2025 Toyota Highlander

For over two decades, the Toyota Highlander has been a go-to choice for buyers seeking a dependable, well-mannered, and highly versatile midsize SUV with seating for up to eight. It lives up to its well-earned reputation for excelling at everything that’s important to families, especially safety. Additionally, good resale value and reasonable fuel costs help make the ownership experience easy on the wallet.

Also available are the efficient Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the larger Toyota Grand Highlander, both reviewed separately.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of midsize SUVs, including the 2025 Toyota Highlander.

This year, the Toyota Highlander receives minor changes. The sporty XSE trim now comes standard with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a Sport Mode startup screen. Additionally, two new paint options are available: Heavy Metal and Cement.

It’s no contest, the XLE is the most popular and best-selling Highlander trim. If you want to stick with Toyota but need something smaller, we suggest the Toyota RAV4. If bigger is your jam, there is a longer Grand Highlander that we review separately. Bigger yet? The aptly named Toyota Sequoia. Highlander pricing should be about average for its segment.

Before buying a Highlander, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. The Toyota Highlander’s resale value is above average, and the Toyota brand is a perennial winner of our Best Resale Value Award.

The 2025 Toyota Highlander is powered by a 265-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine matched with an 8-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). In our time with the Highlander and its turbocharged 4-cylinder, we’ve found it potent and even a bit frisky. It has more torque than the V6 that used to power the Highlander, and torque is what gets you off the line.

Engine aside, the Highlander remains true to its mission, which it carries out well: Serve as a comfortable and adept family hauler. It rolls down all manner of roads with confidence in a relaxed way. Highlander XSE models, with their sport-tuned suspension, add a bit more firmness for those who like to take their corners on the faster side of speed limits.

Toyota’s tried-and-true 8-speed automatic transmission shifts with aplomb, and the Highlander is rated to tow up to 5,000 pounds (about average for this class) when you check the options box for all-wheel drive. All-wheel drive also improves this SUV’s all-weather traction, and the Dynamic Torque Vectoring system in the upper trims further improves responsiveness and stability.

Fuel Economy

The 2025 Toyota Highlander is one of the more efficient vehicles in its class. Front-wheel-drive models boast a combined fuel economy rating of 25 mpg (22 city/29 highway), 2 to 3 mpg better than competitors like the Honda Pilot, Kia Telluride, and Nissan Pathfinder, all of which rely on bigger V6 engines. With all-wheel drive, the Highlander is rated for 24 mpg (21 city/28 highway). You can learn more about the Highlander’s fuel economy on the EPA website.

All Toyota Highlander models have three rows and can seat seven or eight passengers. LE models come exclusively with a second-row bench and seating for eight. The XLE and Limited trims offer this setup or a 7-passenger interior that swaps the bench for two captain’s seats. This 7-seat configuration is the only choice for the XSE and Platinum trims.

We’ve found plenty of space in the first two rows (front: 42 inches; second row: 38.7 inches). However, legroom is tight in the third row, with 28 inches of space, far less than rivals like the Chevy Traverse and Honda Pilot. Therefore, that third row in Highlander is best left to smaller children. There are three seats across the third row, but even if they’re all kids, fitting three people back, there is a tight squeeze.

The good news is that the Highlander shares a showroom with the Grand Highlander. One of the main things that makes it so grand is its much more adult-friendly third row. It’s significantly roomier with an extra 5.5 inches of third-row legroom.

The Highlander’s seating material ranges from fabric in LE trims to Toyota’s SofTex faux leather or genuine leather. Standard creature comforts include a power-adjustable driver’s seat. At the same time, top trims have premium amenities such as heated and cooled front seats, a digital rearview mirror, and a 10-inch head-up display (HUD). Second-row sunshades are standard beginning on the XLE trim.

Regarding cargo capacity for the strollers, groceries, sports gear, and everything else this vehicle will be tasked to carry, the Toyota Highlander has 16 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats, 48.4 with them folded, and 84.3 with the second row folded. Those figures are all about midpack in this segment. For reference, the Grand Highlander has 20.6 cubic feet of space behind the third row and a whopping 97.5 cubic feet of room when you fold all the back seats down.

The Toyota Highlander’s exterior design conveys a nice balance of handsomeness and ruggedness but never goes overboard. This SUV is a family vehicle meant for family life without needing a massive grille or tons of chrome.

Power tailgate
The days of manually heaving and reaching to open and close the Highlander’s rear door are over. A real convenience, this family SUV has a standard power tailgate.

Wireless smartphone connectivity
Whether you’re team Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, you can use your phone’s in-vehicle capabilities without connecting a cord.

Multiple USB ports
If you want to connect devices, you have the option. In our test Highlander and, in fact, in all Highlander trims there are five USB ports throughout the cabin, plus two 12-volt power outlets for other stuff.

Toyota Safety Sense 2.5
We’ve long admired that Toyota doesn’t make you pay extra for active safety and driver-assist features. The 2025 Highlander comes standard with driving aids like adaptive cruise control, lane-tracing assist, and even blind-spot monitoring.

Dual 12.3-inch displays
This high-tech duo of screens now comes standard on the XSE trim and up. One controls infotainment functions, while the other is a digital driver display that can change with various driving modes.

14 cup holders
Although we’ve learned that the abundance of cupholders in the Toyota Highlander often results in more bathroom stops on long road trips, it’s a small price to pay for a hydrated family.

The Toyota Highlander uses a turbocharged 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine linked to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is optional. This engine makes 265 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel-drive models can tow up to 5,000 pounds, which is typical for this segment.

3-Year/36,000-Mile Warranty

Toyota’s new-vehicle warranty covers three years or 36,000 miles, whichever happens first, with powertrains covered for five years or 60,000 miles. This coverage is typical for the segment. Toyota includes complimentary scheduled maintenance over the first two years or 25,000 miles.

Safety

The 2024 Toyota Highlander earned the Top Safety Pick honor from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), while the 2025 model scored a 5-star crash-test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It earns excellent safety scores for its favorable crash-test results and its generous list of standard safety features, which includes automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and road sign assist.